Dogged Sarkozy finally receives his invitation to the White House

After a year of frostiness Barack Obama will finally grant Nicolas Sarkozy the special gesture that he craves tonight: a cosy meal for the French first couple in the Obama family dining room.

The invitation to Mr Sarkozy and Carla Bruni is seen in Paris as a reward for the President’s dogged attempts to bond with a US leader who has kept him at arm’s length since he took office. Barack and Michelle Obama have invited no other foreign leader to a private dinner, Mr Sarkozy’s aides note proudly.

The photo opportunity with “mon ami Barack” is especially welcome to Mr Sarkozy as he struggles with unpopularity at home. A week after his centre-right Union for a Popular Movement took a beating in regional elections